EgyptNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94EgyptMon, 21 Nov 2016 00:12:33 +0000Egypthttp://kgou.org
Suzette Grillot A week ago the International Monetary Fund approved a $12 billion loan to Egypt as the country slips into a perilous economic situation created by a declining currency, food shortages, and a strained relationship with a chief benefactor – Saudi Arabia. “What we’re seeing from one end of the Middle East to the other is no money,” said Joshua Landis, the director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. “You look at the spreadsheet for Egypt, and everything is moving in the wrong direction.” Continued low oil prices have led Saudi Arabia to slash aid to Egypt, most recently by postponing a monthly shipment of 700,000 tons of oil products, The New York Times’ Noor Youssef and Diaa Hadid report: The fraying of the alliance between the two most influential Sunni nations is unfolding amid increasing sectarianism across the region. And the potential loss of Saudi support could hardly come at a worse moment for Egypt, whose economy is crashing amid a devaluing ofLandis: Egypt Developments Show 'Promise Of The Arab Spring Gone Sour'http://kgou.org/post/landis-egypt-developments-show-promise-arab-spring-gone-sour
86157 as http://kgou.orgFri, 18 Nov 2016 16:56:28 +0000Landis: Egypt Developments Show 'Promise Of The Arab Spring Gone Sour'Suzette Grillot Editor's Note: This interview originally aired March 22, 2013. Audiences most likely know Egyptian-American stand-up comedian Ahmed Ahmed as a member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. “Comedians have become, most recently, cultural ambassadors of the world,” Ahmed said. “Whether you're in Africa, or America, or Russia, or Asia, laughter is the common language of the world.” The group of four Middle Eastern comedians derived their name from President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address, where he used the term to describe Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. Ahmed directed the 2011 documentary Just Like Us, which followed several international stand-up comedians through Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Lebanon while highlighting the culture of the Middle Eastern countries. “My background is Egyptian-American, but then I was raised Muslim, and I do this whole explanation…that there's a difference between Arabs and Muslims,” Ahmed said. “So, trying to decipher that is another element to theBest of 'World Views': Laughter As The 'Common Language Of The World'http://kgou.org/post/best-world-views-laughter-common-language-world
75895 as http://kgou.orgFri, 10 Jun 2016 18:48:00 +0000Best of 'World Views': Laughter As The 'Common Language Of The World'Suzette Grillot, Rebecca Cruise, Joshua Landis Joshua Landis and Suzette Grillot discuss what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in Washington this week says about a possible shift in U.S./Middle East alliances. Many traditional U.S. allies are worried Washington might shift toward Iran and away from Israel and Saudi Arabia. Later, Landis and Rebecca Cruise talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood. He compares this decade’s uprisings in the Arab World to what he calls an “Atlantic Spring” that started in 1776. World Views: March 6, 2015http://kgou.org/post/world-views-march-6-2015
48169 as http://kgou.orgFri, 06 Mar 2015 21:36:14 +0000World Views: March 6, 2015Rebecca Cruise Beginning in 2010, a wave of revolutions swept the Middle East, removing rulers and establishing new regimes. Although the Arab Spring took place more than two centuries after the American Revolution, they occurred in similar social and political contexts. “Before [the Arab Spring] there was an Atlantic Spring that began actually in 1776,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon Wood. Although Wood says he sees parallels between the Arab Spring and a decades-long series of revolutions that culminated with uprisings across Europe in 1848, the outcomes of each were notably different. Strong, centralized military rules continue to lead many Arab Spring countries, notably Egypt, but the American Revolution took a different path. “[Authoritarianism] was a choice that Americans talked about: should General Washington become a dictator?” Wood says. “[But] [James] Madison said, ‘We’re not going to go down that route, we’re going to find a republican remedy for republican ills.’ And theRevolutionary Lessons: Parallels Between America’s Independence And The Arab Springhttp://kgou.org/post/revolutionary-lessons-parallels-between-america-s-independence-and-arab-spring
47993 as http://kgou.orgThu, 05 Mar 2015 16:17:00 +0000Revolutionary Lessons: Parallels Between America’s Independence And The Arab SpringSuzette Grillot, Joshua Landis, Brian Hardzinski Joshua Landis and Suzette Grillot discuss riots in Egypt after a court in Cairo dropped its case against deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak, and about how a focus on counterterrorism has overtaken all hopes for democracy in the Middle East. Then a conversation with literary critic Warren Motte about his work collecting tens of thousands of moments where characters gaze into mirrors. World Views: December 6, 2014http://kgou.org/post/world-views-december-6-2014
42499 as http://kgou.orgFri, 05 Dec 2014 20:36:11 +0000World Views: December 6, 2014Brian Hardzinski Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Cairo throughout the week after a court ruled Saturday evening to dismiss charges against ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising in Egypt.The Associated Press calls the ruling another setback for activists who led the revolution nearly four years ago, reinforcing the idea that Mubarak's military-led autocratic state remains in place, now led by Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. The former military chief led the uprising against elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi last year.Mubarak was also acquitted of corruption charges that he faced along with his sons Alaa and Gamal — his one-time heir apparent — over the statute of limitations in the case running out. The case involves their purchase from Salem of luxury villas in a Red Sea resort at a vastly discounted price, something that the prosecution had said amounted to bribery. The two sons face a separate trial on charges of insider trading. All theLandis: "Full Circle" Parallels Between Mubarak Release, Syria Strategy Shifthttp://kgou.org/post/landis-full-circle-parallels-between-mubarak-release-syria-strategy-shift
42490 as http://kgou.orgFri, 05 Dec 2014 18:21:54 +0000Landis: "Full Circle" Parallels Between Mubarak Release, Syria Strategy ShiftBrian Hardzinski Samer Shehata joins Suzette Grillot to talk about democratic developments in Egypt, and how the conviction of journalists and questions about the fairness of May’s elections have affected the country’s relations with the United States. Later, a conversation about police cooperation and Europe’s internal security policy with Canisius College political scientist John Occhipinti. World Views: August 1, 2014http://kgou.org/post/world-views-august-1-2014
34579 as http://kgou.orgFri, 01 Aug 2014 21:30:00 +0000World Views: August 1, 2014Brian HardzinskiIt’s been almost 13 months since the coup that ousted Egypt’s first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi. Since then, there’s been a great deal of violence that accompanied the transition leading to the inauguration of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on June 8. Last month at a press conference in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated that Egypt is still transitioning toward democracy. But University of Oklahoma Middle East scholar and Muslim Brotherhood expert Samer Shehata says the crackdown on political dissidents and press freedom, as well as moves against the instigators of the 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak show Egypt isn’t heading in a democratic direction. “The United States always, in the case of Egypt, puts its supposed national security interests over things like democracy, human rights, and rule of law,” Shehata says. “For example, the maintenance of the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel, the access that American military have overA Year After Morsi Coup, 'Business-As-Usual' In U.S.-Egypt Relationshttp://kgou.org/post/year-after-morsi-coup-business-usual-us-egypt-relations
34578 as http://kgou.orgFri, 01 Aug 2014 16:37:00 +0000A Year After Morsi Coup, 'Business-As-Usual' In U.S.-Egypt RelationsSuzette Grillot, Rebecca Cruise, Joshua Landis Rebecca Cruise explains why Russia's ouster from the Group of Eight industrialized nations is mostly symbolic with little consequence, and Joshua Landis discusses the implications of the murder convictions of more than 500 supporters of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Later, a conversation with political scientist Fevzi Bilgin about allegations against Turkey’s prime minister, and political instability ahead of Sunday's local elections. World Views: March 28, 2014http://kgou.org/post/world-views-march-28-2014
26144 as http://kgou.orgFri, 28 Mar 2014 18:05:40 +0000World Views: March 28, 2014Brian Hardzinski, Suzette Grillot A court in southern Egypt Monday convicted 529 supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, sentencing them to death on charges of murdering a policeman and attacking police. The defendants were arrested after violent demonstrations that were a backlash for the police crackdown in August on pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo that killed hundreds of people. Joshua Landis, the Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, says former military chief and now-presidential candidate Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is consolidating his military dictatorship and sending a dramatic message. “People who had said, 'Oh, we're going back to [ousted President Hosni] Mubarak's time' are now saying this is going back to [Gamal Abdel] Nasser in the 1950s when he cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood,” Landis says. “Many of the liberals and many of the young people who welcomed in this military dictatorship thinking it would protect their freedoms of speech and other things‘Better The Devil You Know’ As Egypt Cracks Down On Morsi Supportershttp://kgou.org/post/better-devil-you-know-egypt-cracks-down-morsi-supporters
26140 as http://kgou.orgFri, 28 Mar 2014 17:47:19 +0000‘Better The Devil You Know’ As Egypt Cracks Down On Morsi SupportersMark MemmottIn something of a surprise, Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi announced Monday that his entire Cabinet is stepping down.From Cairo, NPR's Leila Fadel says the prime minister gave no reason for the mass resignation.But as The Associated Press reports, the resignations "could be designed in part to pave the way for the nation's military chief to leave his defense minister's post to run for president." According to Reuters, for Field Marshall Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi "to run for president, he would first need to quit as defense minister."Leila reminds our Newscast Desk that "the government in Egypt is seen as a weak, interim leadership that is backed by the nation's powerful military. It was not elected, but appointed by the nation's president — Adly Mansour — who wasn't elected either. He was appointed by the military after it staged a popularly-backed coup against elected Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last July."A presidential election is expected to be held by mid-April.Resignations In Egypt May Be Prelude To General's Presidential Runhttp://kgou.org/post/resignations-egypt-may-be-prelude-generals-presidential-run
23895 as http://kgou.orgMon, 24 Feb 2014 12:29:00 +0000Resignations In Egypt May Be Prelude To General's Presidential RunMark MemmottUpdate at 11:05 a.m. ET: There's been a fourth blast in Cairo. We've added that development to the top of this post.The explosion of a powerful bomb outside a security headquarters in Cairo killed at least four people on Friday. Soon after that, two more smaller explosions in the city left at least one other person dead. Then, in late afternoon, a bomb apparently planted on a road exploded as a police convoy went by — killing one more person, according to The Associated Press.Dozens of people were wounded in the bombings. The first blast of the day — the largest of the four — shattered windows for about a mile.On a weekend when nerves are already on edge because it's the third anniversary of the protests that eventually led to the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak's government, NPR's Leila Fadel says the explosions were quickly followed by protests. The demonstrators, she said, blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the bombings.As The Associated Press writes, "nobody claimedMobs Blame Muslim Brotherhood After Bombs Rock Cairohttp://kgou.org/post/mobs-blame-muslim-brotherhood-after-bombs-rock-cairo
21814 as http://kgou.orgFri, 24 Jan 2014 11:44:00 +0000Mobs Blame Muslim Brotherhood After Bombs Rock CairoScott NeumanAt least 200 refugees, mostly women and children, have drowned in South Sudan after a ferry sank as they were trying to cross the Nile River to escape fighting near the northern town of Malakal.Army spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said the group was in an "overloaded" boat. The New York Times, which places the number of dead at between 200 and 300, reports that it is the worst such ferry accident to date as tens of thousands of residents have sought refuge."They all drowned. They were fleeing the fighting that broke out again in Malakal," he added.The United Nations estimates that more than 350,000 people have been displaced in the conflict between the South Sudanese government and rebel forces.The BBC reports:"Thousands of civilians have been trying to escape the clashes by crossing the river, but many say they simply cannot afford to pay for a boat, says the BBC's Andrew Harding in South Sudan.""One refugee, Akuch, told our correspondent that she had had to borrow as much as 150 SudaneseHundreds Fleeing South Sudan's Fighting Drown In Nile River http://kgou.org/post/hundreds-fleeing-south-sudans-fighting-drown-nile-river
21114 as http://kgou.orgTue, 14 Jan 2014 14:58:18 +0000Hundreds Fleeing South Sudan's Fighting Drown In Nile River Mark Memmotthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oA3A_aZ3wE The trial of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi opened and then was quickly adjourned Monday in Cairo.The judge ordered a delay to Jan. 8 after Morsi refused to recognize the court's legitimacy or wear a prison uniform, and after Morsi and other defendants disrupted the proceeding with chants that included "down with military rule, this is a state not a military camp."As Merrit Kennedy reported for NPR, Morsi had not been seen in public since his government was toppled on July 3 in a coup. Egypt's military says it removed Morsi because of growing anger and public protests over how the nation's first democratically elected president and his Muslim Brotherhood supporters were governing.Morsi's government, elected after the 2011 toppling of President Hosni Mubarak's regime, was in power for only about one year.Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been under arrest for allegedly inciting violence that led to the deaths ofMorsi Is Defiant As Trial Opens, Then Is Delayed Until Januaryhttp://kgou.org/post/morsi-defiant-trial-judge-adjourns-case-january
16499 as http://kgou.orgMon, 04 Nov 2013 11:59:00 +0000Morsi Is Defiant As Trial Opens, Then Is Delayed Until JanuaryBrian Hardzinski NPR assigned correspondent Kelly McEvers to Iraq in 2010 with instructions not to miss a day ahead of the expected troop withdrawal by the end of 2011. Then in late 2010, a young man in Tunisia set himself on fire, and literally changed everything, McEvers says. At first I was watching it on TV in Baghdad, sitting there thinking, Do we really have to stay in Baghdad? Cmon, you know? Put me in coach! asking to be sent out on the stories. McEvers spent the next three years based in Beirut, Lebanon, and extensively covered the uprisings across the Middle East that became known as the Arab Spring. Its hard to impart how absolutely momentous this was, McEvers says. We, even then, could see what a huge, enormous moment in history this was going to be. She traveled undercover to follow Arab uprisings in places where brutal crackdowns quickly followed the early euphoria of protests -- Bahrain, Yemen and Syria. Earlier this year she produced a documentary about her experiences called Diary ofReporting On The Middle East: Syria And Egypt After The Arab Springhttp://kgou.org/post/reporting-middle-east-syria-and-egypt-after-arab-spring
15251 as http://kgou.orgMon, 14 Oct 2013 15:02:27 +0000Reporting On The Middle East: Syria And Egypt After The Arab SpringMark Memmott(We put a new top on this post at 11:50 a.m. ET and added a new development being reported by the AP at 2 p.m. ET.)The Obama administration is still reviewing U.S. assistance to Egypt and it's incorrect to say that such aid has been "secretly" put on hold, the White House said Tuesday.That message from a National Security Council spokeswoman follows a report in The Daily Beast, which we posted about earlier, quoting a spokesman for Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who said it's the senator's understanding that "aid to the Egyptian military has been halted, as required by law."Such policy decisions haven't yet been made, according to the NSC. Just before 2 p.m. ET, though, The Associated Press reported that it had learned from "officials" that there would be a "Cabinet-level meeting Tuesday to discuss cutting some Egypt aid."Earlier, The Daily Beast wrote this about the administration's official position vs. what has been happening with aid to Egypt since the July 3 ouster of PresidentUPDATE: No Decision Yet On Egyptian Aid, White House Sayshttp://kgou.org/post/egypt-us-aid-secretly-halted-brotherhood-leader-arrested
11921 as http://kgou.orgTue, 20 Aug 2013 14:08:16 +0000UPDATE: No Decision Yet On Egyptian Aid, White House SaysScott NeumanThis post was updated 1:00 a.m. ET MondayThe Egyptian government says at least 36 people were killed Sunday — Islamists who had been in custody of security forces, according to a report in The New York Times.The Associated Press reports the suspects killed were part of a prison truck convoy of some 600 detainees heading to Abu Zaabal prison in northern Egypt. Detainees in one of the trucks rioted and managed to capture a police officer inside.Security forces fired tear gas into the truck in hopes of freeing the badly beaten officer, security officials told the AP. The officials said those killed died from suffocating on the gas.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.(Post was updated at 3:50 p.m. ET Sunday)Egypt's army kept several large squares in Cairo locked down on Sunday after days of bloody confrontations between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.Security was also beefed up at a keyEgypt Tense After Bloody Crackdown On Protestshttp://kgou.org/post/egypt-tense-after-bloody-crackdown-protests
11826 as http://kgou.orgSun, 18 Aug 2013 14:04:57 +0000Egypt Tense After Bloody Crackdown On ProtestsSuzette Grillot, Rebecca Cruise On Thursday President Obama canceled joint military exercises with Egypt. Samer Shehata, a University of Oklahoma professor of Middle East Studies and an expert on Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood, says while the move was the least President Obama could do, it was still necessary. Foreign aid to post-conflict countries usually focuses on rebuilding physical infrastructure. Peter Weinberger says in countries where there are deep divisions between religious, ethnic, or tribal groups, social reconstruction is more important, and can be much more difficult to achieve, than physical reconstruction. World Views: August 16, 2013http://kgou.org/post/world-views-august-16-2013
11739 as http://kgou.orgFri, 16 Aug 2013 21:30:00 +0000World Views: August 16, 2013Brian Hardzinski, Suzette Grillot On Thursday President Obama canceled joint military exercises with Egypt – saying U.S. cooperation with that country can't "continue as usual" amid the violence that claimed more than 600 lives since Wednesday. Samer Shehata, a University of Oklahoma professor of Middle East Studies and an expert on Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood, says while the move was the least President Obama could do, it was still necessary. “It isn't terribly costly for the United States or for the Egyptian military,” Shehata says. “I think the larger questions, the more important questions, are will U.S. military assistance to Egypt, which is on the tune of $1.3 billion annually, will that be suspended or ended?” Government Crackdown Raises Larger Questions About Egypt's Economic Futurehttp://kgou.org/post/government-crackdown-raises-larger-questions-about-egypts-economic-future
11690 as http://kgou.orgThu, 15 Aug 2013 21:30:25 +0000Government Crackdown Raises Larger Questions About Egypt's Economic FutureMark Memmott"The United States strongly condemns the steps that have been taken by Egypt's interim government" that have led to civilians "being killed in the streets," President Obama said Thursday from Martha's Vineyard, Mass., where he is vacationing with his family.He called on Egypt's interim government to lift the state of emergency it has declared and said the U.S. has canceled joint military exercises with Egypt that had been scheduled for September."Our traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual while civilians are being killed in the streets," Obama said.But he did not say the U.S. would cancel any of the several billion dollars' worth of aid — mostly military in nature — it sends to Egypt each year. Obama did, though, say the U.S. will consider "further steps."His comments, the president's first since a bloody crackdown on supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday left hundreds of people dead and thousands more wounded, echoed a statement the White HouseObama 'Strongly Condemns' Crackdown In Egypthttp://kgou.org/post/obama-strongly-condemns-crackdown-egypt
11650 as http://kgou.orgThu, 15 Aug 2013 14:46:00 +0000Obama 'Strongly Condemns' Crackdown In Egypt